Tempting Fate
by Akyesein
Summary: A mortally wounded Sepulchure is taken under the care of the Soulweaver Kael. She despises him, but feels conflicted. He loathes her, but feels intrigued by her power. Full summary inside.
1. Chapter 1: Seeing Red

**Verse: **Post the first chapter of Dragonfable.

**Summary: **After the mega Darkness Dragon is destroyed and the light returned to the world of Lore, the forces of good are left to pick up the pieces of what is left behind. A mortally wounded Sepulchure is taken under the care of the side of good on the insistence of Kael, the hero of Falconreach, that because he had helped defeat the ultimate Darkness Dragon, it was only fair that the debt be repaid in some form.

**Pairings:** Planning on Sepulchure/OC.

**Rating: **Rated M for violence, excessive blood of varying colors, some gore, possible character death/maiming, and eventual citrus-y scenes (maybe).

**Author's Note: **This is just a random idea (when AREN'T my ideas random?) that I had one day while playing Sims 3. No clue where this came from.

And… I am pairing a main character with an OC. And here I had thought that I had cured myself of that when I was in high school… I am doing my best to keep her away from the realm of Mary-Sue-dom, and I am (hopefully) succeeding. If she starts to seem like a Mary Sue, PLEASE let me know so I can correct it.

As a warning, this fic _might_ head towards the realm of smut. It's definitely gonna take the scenic route, though, plus I have no idea if things are gonna get to be this specific sort of graphic. Hesitant on making it that way, as I am not very good at writing romance, plus I have never written anything even remotely containing smut before, so this'll be a learning experience. I shall do my best!

A note about my OC, Kael Resain. She is based off of my Dragonfable character. And yes, this is the same character I use in the story _Weaver of Souls_ and in the roleplay I'm hosting here called _Fallen Tower._ This story is entirely unconnected to either of them, and Kael's personality here is slightly different from the way I portray her in _Fallen Tower,_ though it's pretty close to her personality in _Weaver of Souls._

**Disclaimer: **I do not, nor will I ever, own Dragonfable. It and all related games, plots, characters, settings, etc. is the property of Artix Entertainment. I am merely toying with its characters to suit my own fangirl-ish tendencies. Kael and Nirin, however, do belong to me.

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><p><strong>Edit 224/12: **Fixed a tiny little plot hole that's been bugging me, and made some small wording changes here and there.

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><p><strong>Tempting Fate<strong>

Chapter 1

**Seeing Red**

Cries of joy echoed across the barren field as the sun filled the sky with light once again. Kael raised a hand to shield her eyes as she watched the sky fade from black to palest blue. Finally, she could let out the tension she had been holding from the very beginning. The darkness dragon was defeated, the prophecy was fulfilled, and Lore was safe.

Looking out over the field, Kael's smile fell away. So many dead, so many homes destroyed, so many families broken, so many lives lost. Too many. Such was the price that had to be paid in exchange for destroying the dragon that had swallowed the sun.

Kael walked through the field. Her eyes passed from dead body to dead body, trying to find the remains of people she knew, while at the same time hoping with all her might that she would not spot a familiar face among the dead.

Many of the dead were human. Guardians that had fallen to the swarms of undead, mages who had used up their own life force in the effort to keep fighting, archers that had been thrown from the battlements to their deaths, among others.

The majority of the dead were those who had been dead for many years. Skeletons that had been reduced to little more than shattered fragments of bone, reanimated corpses that had collapsed into piles of stinking, rotting flesh, empty suits of red armor than had once housed the spirits of Entropy, and that was only a small number of them.

"Kael," Aegis said, calling her attention. Kael looked in the direction he was pointing, and her stomach dropped.

Sepulchure.

He lay facedown on the ground, unmoving. His sword lay discarded a few feet away, looking somewhat less menacing now that it no longer housed a corrupt spirit of darkness. There were what looked like claw marks in the ashy earth; he had apparently tried to drag himself along after he had lost the strength necessary to walk.

Kael's legs seemed to move of their own accord as she stumbled towards her fallen enemy. How did this happen? Why hadn't he healed himself like he had done every other time he had been hurt in battle? Why didn't he know she was there? Why wasn't he trying to kill her?

Was he even breathing?

She knelt down next to him, pulling one of her Soul Claws off of her hands as she did so. She placed two fingers at his neck. A faint heartbeat fluttered under her fingertips. He was alive, then. But barely.

Withdrawing her hand, Kael was torn. For the first time in her life, she had Sepulchure, the infamous Doom Knight, completely at her mercy. He was unconscious and probably near death. It would be so simple to simply slide a knife blade across his throat, or perhaps tear what little remained of his torn and battered soul from his body. It would be so simple, so easy, and yet…

Kael did not move. She did not reach for the knife at her belt, nor did she pull her Soul Claws back on, nor did she speak one of the spells that she knew would cause instant death. She just… sat there.

Something stirred on the ground next to Sepulchure. A tiny form. No… A child.

A little child raised her head to look at Kael with wide, tear-filled blue eyes.

"Daddy won't wake up," the little girl cried. The poor thing was a pitiful sight, with tears streaming down her face, a dripping nose, and face and clothes covered in dirt. "Daddy won't wake up," she repeated.

_Daddy…? _Sepulchure had… a _daughter?_

Kael was dumb-struck. Sepulchure, the bane of Falconreach, the most powerful Doom Knight history has ever seen, was a father?

Kael had no idea what to think. Her mind had already been reeling ever since Sepulchure had agreed to fight alongside her against the dragon Drakath, but this… This was bordering on insanity! _Sepulchure_, of all people! A parent!

"Why won't Daddy wake up?" the child asked between sobs. "Can you help him?"

Had Kael been looking only at the child, she would have said 'yes' without hesitation. 'Yes,' she would help her father, 'yes,' she would help him to wake up.

But… this was Sepulchure. She should kill him. She _had_ to kill him. After all, he had been trying to kill her for so long, all the while trying to destroy the whole of Lore, and nearly succeeding every time. And he had _wanted_ to kill her; all that time the only thing preventing him from doing so was the cackling voice that came from that sword of his saying that his master had other plans.

And yet, she just couldn't bring herself to kill his right in front of a crying child. _His_ child. And no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that it was wrong to let the man live, she couldn't bear to think about how she would be robbing the child of her father.

Slowly, Kael nodded. "I can," she told the child in a hushed tone.

"What are you doing?" Aegis hissed.

Kael didn't answer. Instead, she unfastened her cloak from around her neck and tossed it at the spirit.

"Take the kid," she told him without meeting his gaze. "She can't stay out here."

"Kael," Aegis began.

"Aegis, please! Just… please. I can't make sense of anything right now."

The spirit said nothing as he took the cloak in his arms, wrapped it around the girl, and hoisted her into the air in a single motion. The child whimpered at the sudden cold that came from Aegis's skin, but she did not protest.

Without even considering if she was making the right choice, or simply a stupid one, Kael somehow managed to position the unconscious man so that she was carrying him piggy-back.

"Let's go." She and Aegis headed away from the battlefield in silence.

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><p>"Why the hell am I doing this?" Kael muttered to herself. "I have Sepulchure, the deadliest Doom Knight the world has ever seen, unconscious, wounded, and <em>in my house!<em> What the _hell_ am I thinking!" She held her face in her hands. "I must be going crazy. After all, why else would I decide to have mercy on the man who's been trying to kill me for years? Yes, that must be it. I'm going mad, aren't I?"

"Kael, you're talking to yourself," Aegis stated quietly. She looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes to see that he was still carrying that little red-haired girl in his arms. The child was fast asleep, wrapped in Kael's discarded cloak in order to protect her from the spirit's freezing touch. "Where do I put her?"

"Anywhere," Kael sighed. "Give her something to eat if she wakes up, and keep her out of this room. I've gotta see what I can do here."

Aegis nodded and left, taking the sleeping girl with him.

For a long moment, Kael just sat there, staring at the still form on the bed. Greenish blood still oozed out of the enormous rent in Sepulchure's armor, which meant she would have to tend to it soon, or else he would bleed to death. She was tempted to simply watch and let him bleed out, but her conscience told her otherwise.

With a groan, she got to her feet.

"Idon't want to do this," she whined to no one in particular. Taking care of the man's wounds meant actually removing the armor that encased his body, and that, she _really_ didn't want to do. She sighed. "Might as well get this over with."

Sepulchure's armor was very intricate. There weren't any fastenings that she could see or easily reach, so she had no idea as to how she was going to actually get the stuff off of him. Although, the helm looked like it would be easy enough to get rid of.

Quelling any thoughts that would deter her, she reached down, and lifted the helm off his head.

Sepulchure didn't look at all like she thought he would. Kael had been half-expecting to find a demon's face in place of a human one, or else a blackened skull, like Xan. Instead, Sepulchure's face looked… hollow. There were dark circles under his sunken eyes that made Kael wonder if the man ever slept at all, or if he was simply that drained after fighting the dragon Drakath in his condition. A jagged scar ran down one side of his face from his hairline to his jawbone. His hair, a ragged mess of dark red, was plastered to his forehead and neck with sweat. There were deep frown lines around his eyes and mouth, as well.

"One down, a whole lot more to go," she said to herself. Kael set the helm aside before reaching back down to lift him up in order to get at the shoulder guards. She grimaced to see that the sheets beneath him were already becoming soaked with blood. "Well, now I know these sheets are the ones he'll be using from now on."

It took a lot of fiddling and frustration, but Kael eventually found the buckle that held the piece of armor in place. A moment later, there was a little snap, and the shoulder guard fell onto the floor with a loud clatter. The other one followed suit not long after.

Somewhere along the line, Kael fell into a sort of stupor as she worked to get Sepulchure's armor off. He stayed under the entire time, completely still save for his shallow breathing. Soon, the pieces of blood red metal and bone became a large pile on the floor. Fortunately, Sepulchure was wearing a plain tunic and pants beneath his armor.

Poking at the tear in the cloth of his tunic, Kael's lip curled in disgust. Not only was the cloth soaked through with greenish blood, it was also sweat-stained, slightly threadbare, and it _smelled._ Clearly, wearing that armor all the time was not the most ideal.

Not caring that she was damaging his clothing, Kael ripped the tunic open in order to get a good look at the wound that had weakened him. It needed cleaning, that was for sure. The area around the laceration was crusted over with dried blood, as well as covered in a black ooze that was obviously _not _supposed to be there.

"Leave it to Sepulchure to have a sword with a poisoned blade," Kael muttered. "Bet he never thought Drakath would have the guts to take it and run him through with it." She sighed. "No wonder he weakened so fast." She tore the rest of the ruined tunic away from his body and tossed it into a corner so she could burn it later. "I'm gonna have to purge the poison from him." She swallowed back some bile when she confirmed that the wound on his back had the same damage. "Oh, this has just not been my day."

She left Sepulchure's side to go into the adjoining washroom. The wooden tub would be a little small, but it would have to do. Tapping the rune that was carved into the side of the tub, she muttered the true names of water and fire. The rune lit up, and within moments, the tub was filled with scalding water.

By the time she returned to the other room, Sepulchure had broken out into a cold sweat. He lay there half-naked, shivering, though his skin was burning to the touch.

"I really hope you don't wake up in the middle of this," Kael said to the unconscious Doom Knight, knowing full well that he probably couldn't hear her. "This is embarrassing enough as it is, not to mention disgusting." Gingerly, she wrapped one of his arms about her shoulders and half-dragged him from the bed and into the washroom. Green blood dripped from the wound and onto the floor, leaving a trail behind them. It wasn't until after she had gotten him into the tub that she realized that she'd probably have to get his pants off, too. Stifling a groan, she reached down into the water and tore the bloodstained pants to shreds, trying her hardest not to look down at what she was doing.

With what was left of Sepulchure's clothes in a soggy heap on the floor, Kael set to work. It wasn't long before the water turned murky as who-knows-how-many-days of dried sweat, blood, and dirt was washed away. Every few minutes, Kael would tap the glowing rune on the side of the tub, and the dirty water would vanish and be replaced by clean water. All the while, the wound in the unconscious man's chest continued to bleed, but at least Kael was now able to tell exactly how much damage it had caused.

The wound itself was about eight inches long, reaching from just below his collarbone to the bottom of his ribcage, and about as wide as her thumb. As far as Kael could guess, it had missed his heart and lungs completely, but there was no way it had missed his esophagus or whatever major arteries were located there. As to how he managed to fight with a wound like that, Kael had no idea. It was incredible enough that he was still breathing.

After replacing the water for probably the fourth or fifth time, Kael retreated back to the adjoining room to fetch her Soul Claws.

"You should be glad that you're out cold," she said to the unconscious man as she walked back into the washroom. "Because this is not gonna be pleasant for either of us."

Soul Purging was one of the more delicate of Soulweaver spells. It was a method many Soulweavers used to remove any and all toxins from an object or animal, usually to make sure that water was safe to drink or that an animal killed for food didn't have any diseases that could be passed on. Using it on a person was not usually considered advisable, as while the rune sequence was simple enough, it had to be absolutely perfect, as well as placed on the right part of the person's body, or else the results could be disastrous.

Carefully, Kael began tracing the primary runes for the spell on Sepulchure's chest, directly over his heart, while murmuring the spell under her breath. The runes glowed brightest blue-white for a moment before melting into his skin.

For a moment, nothing happened. It was only after several seconds had ticked by that Sepulchure's body began to convulse as every toxin in his body fought to escape through every possible opening, from his eyes and nose, to the wound in his chest, right down to the pores of his skin. By the time he became still once more, the water had gone from clear to almost black.

Kael hurriedly tapped the rune on the side of the tub again to replace the water, then grabbed a clean cloth from the shelf on the wall as well as the bar of soap she had been using earlier. Now to get rid of the last traces of that gunk that was still determined to stick to his skin…

With most of the dried blood gone, cleaning him off was a much easier task. All the while, Kael tried not to think about how this was her most powerful enemy she was bathing. Instead, she kept her eyes either on her hands or, for when her hands (much to her embarrassment) had to dip below the water, on his face.

Sepulchure had many scars, she discovered. Nearly all of them were old, probably from battle. A few of them were newer; one was a set of what Kael recognized as the claw marks of a young dragon. She had almost laughed when she had seen that scar; it seemed he had had a little trouble with taming that dracolich of his! There were several scars on his shoulders that could have been from arrows, and one across his right forearm that she recognized as one she had given him herself a few years before. He had underestimated her when they had first met, and so he had let his guard down enough to give her the opening she had needed to give him that wound. It the first wound she had ever given him, as well as the last.

Kael frowned when she attempted to wash his hair. There were so many tangles in it that she couldn't run her fingers through it without catching on a knot or seven.

"Note to self," she muttered. "Ridiculously powerful Doom Knight known as Sepulchure is apparently somewhat inept when it comes to personal hygiene."

When she was done, Kael checked Sepulchure's wound again. The edges of it were starting to scab over already, though it would probably need to be sewn shut in order for it to heal properly.

There was a knock on the door.

"What?" Kael called, not looking up as she tapped the rune on the side of the tub, causing the water to vanish for a final time.

The door opened. "There are people here," Aegis stated from the doorway. "Warlic and Guardian Kain. They are demanding to speak with you."

Kael got to her feet with a tired sigh. "Fine. I'll talk to them." She jerked her head towards the unconscious Sepulchure. "Could you get him dried off and back into the bed? Don't bother changing the sheets; he'll just bleed all over them again."

Aegis nodded as she walked past him and through the bedroom to the main room. The little girl was asleep in an armchair, still wrapped in the cloak.

As Aegis had said, The Blue Mage, Warlic, and Guardian Kain were standing outside her door. Judging by their faces, she must have been quite a sight. Disheveled hair, clothes stained with greenish blood, wet sleeves rolled up past the elbows…

"What is it?" Kael asked wearily. "Don't tell me that fucking darkness dragon resurrected itself again, because I think I killed it pretty good the second time around."

"Kael." Warlic's voice, usually so calm and kind, was practically quivering with barely-controlled anger. "Where is he?"

"Where's who?"

"You know who I mean. Sepulchure. Where is he?"

"What, did you lose him?" she snapped.

"Where is he?" Kain repeated Warlic's question. The Guardian's face reflected the same anger that filled the mage's voice.

"I have him," Kael admitted. "He's inside, unconscious, and pretty damn near bleeding to death, so if you would excuse me." A metal-booted foot prevented her from closing the door.

"Kael, you mean to say that you are actually attempting to save that abomination's life?" Warlic wasn't even trying to disguise his fury any more.

"Yes, that is what I am saying," Kael confirmed, exasperated. "Don't ask me why, because I doubt I could think up a reason. And before you say that he is a threat if left alive, I can assure that he isn't going to be able to move anytime soon, let alone go on a homicidal rampage. Don't believe me? Come see for yourself." Kael opened the door wider and stepped aside to allow them to enter. "Please leave any and all weapons by the door, if you please," she ordered. "I've had to deal with enough death for today, and I refuse to allow a bloodbath in my own home."

Guardian Kain hesitated for a moment before leaning his sword against the wall by the door. Warlic reluctantly followed suit, leaving his staff behind.

"Who's the kid?" Kain asked as Kael led them through the house.

"Sepulchure's kid, I think," Kael replied. "She kept calling him 'Daddy' earlier."

"And you brought her into your house?"

"Well, I couldn't very well leave her behind. She's barely old enough to walk." They came to a stop in front of the bedroom door. "He's out cold, so I don't think any interrogations you're planning will be very productive." She pushed the door open to see Aegis working to wrap a makeshift bandage made from one of the ruined sheets around Sepulchure's bare chest. Fortunately, the spirit had thought to wrap a towel around the unconscious man's waist, as well. Sepulchure's hair was still dripping wet, and when the drops of water landed on Aegis's skin, they froze instantly into tiny ice crystals that made little tinkling noises when they hit the floor.

"His armor and sword are in the corner over there," Kael said, waving her hand towards the indicated corner. "Feel free to take those with you, if it makes you feel any better."

"He is still a threat, Kael," Warlic insisted. "Even like this. When he wakes up-"

"_If _he wakes up," Kael interrupted, "And there's no guarantee that he will, he'll have a seal on him so that his powers will be bound to the point where even Ash could beat him in a fistfight."

"Which seal?"

"Vistren's Circle," Kael replied. "It's the strongest one I know, though I don't think I ever quite figured out how to break it, not that that'll be necessary with him."

Vistren's Circle was one of many seals used by Soulweavers to bind a soul. In involved cutting off the section of the target's soul that contained magical power, rendering it inaccessible and lifeless. What's more, the Circle essentially bound the target to the caster's will, making them completely incapable of disobeying a direct order given by the castor. Casting the Circle was a simple enough task, provided one knew the intricate runes needed, but breaking it was an entirely different matter. As in, it was nearly impossible to break the Circle. Not even the caster's death would be enough to break it.

Warlic nodded after a moment. "Fine."

"What?"

"I said, fine. If you can keep him under Vistren's Circle indefinitely, then he will not be considered a threat. However, if there is even the slightest sign that you are unable to control him, then he will be put to death.

"Also," Warlic continued. "You must place the Circle upon him now, so that I know for sure it is in place."

"You're saying you don't trust me?" Kael asked.

"I trust you. It is _him _that I do not trust."

"Fine, fine," Kael replied, nodding. "But let me get him stitched up first so he stops bleeding all over my furniture."

Warlic and Kain stood off to one side while Kael first retrieved her Soul Claws, then began unraveling the makeshift bandage around Sepulchure's torso. Nearly half of the bandage had already been soaked through with blood.

"Here we go…"

Kael traced a single rune in the air, murmuring the necessary spell words. Touching a single finger to her chest, she drew out one of her own soul threads in order to begin the delicate process of mending Sepulchure's wound. Ordinarily she would have used a piece of Sepulchure's soul for this particular process, but his soul was so badly damaged that splitting his soul would have meant instant death.

She began at base level, weaving the glowing blue thread into the rip in Sepulchure's soul, bringing the ragged edges together. Then she moved to the physical level, using the same soul thread to close the tear in his esophagus and blood vessels. Finally, she wove the muscle back together, then the skin. It would take a while for it all to fully heal, but with that he would at least be able to function properly without having to worry about reopening the wound.

When she was done, Kael retreated to the washroom for a moment, both to wash the blood off of her hands and to clean off her Claws.

"Alright, let's get this over with," she said when she returned, doing her best to ignore the ringing in her ears that was caused by using up one of her soul threads. It was uncomfortable, but she knew that the sensation would fade with time.

Just as she had done with the Soul Purge, Kael began tracing complex runes on Sepulchure's skin with the tip of her finger. The three key runes were placed over his heart, with the remaining three on his forehead and the backs of his hands. The six runes glowed blue-white as she recited the names of the runes in the order in which they had been drawn. In her mind's eye, the image is Vistren's Circle burned brightly, stretching to encompass all six runes.

The glow faded, leaving spots dancing in front of Kael's eyes. As she blinked to clear her vision, she saw that the runes she had drawn seemed to have burned themselves into the unconscious man's skin, leaving shining white scars.

"There," she said, one hand on her hip. "Happy?"

Warlic nodded. "Inform me when he wakes. Even like this, he could still be dangerous, and I will take no chances."

"Works for me," Kael sighed. "And I hate to be rude, but unless you have other business here, I would very much like for you to leave. I'm exhausted, and I've still got the kid to sort out."

"We will take our leave, then," Kain answered. The two men left the room, taking Sepulchure's discarded armor and sword with them.

Kael did not watch them leave. Aegis came back in immediately after the front door closed.

With the spirit's help, she was able to replace the soiled bed linens with fresh ones, as well as wrap clean bandages around Sepulchure's torso. He remained unconscious throughout the entire process. Her work done, Kael collapsed into the chair in the corner. Her limbs were shaking from exhaustion, and she could feel a cold sweat breaking out on her brow.

"You need to sleep," the spirit told her.

"Don't I know it," she replied with a dry laugh. "But not yet. I gotta figure out a better place for the kid than that chair by the front door."

"I will take care of the child," Aegis offered. "You get some sleep."

She nodded. "I will, as soon as I clean up this mess."

"No," Aegis scolded. "Sleep. I will take care of it."

"But—"

"_No."_ An ice-cold finger jabbed her in the forehead. "Sleep. _Now_. Do not make me freeze you in place."

Kael chuckled; it was no empty threat. "Oh, Aegis, what would I be without you?"

The spirit smirked. "Useless."

"Yes, yes." Kael got to her feet and headed to the door. "Thank you, Aegis."

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Alright! First chapter, done! It's a long one, too. Long chapter is looooooooong, yay!

Ok, enough of my silliness.

I apologize if you find the concept of this story a little cheesy. I am trying my hardest to give Kael some decent justifications as to exactly why she is helping her arch nemesis, but figuring out good reasons is hard. But, then, she does a lot of things without really thinking, so for now, that's reason enough.

Again, if any part of Kael's character is even slightly leaning towards Mary-Sue-ville, PLEASE tell me. I can't stand Mary Sues, and I certainly don't want my favorite OC to become one.

Please review! I thrive off of constructive criticism, but feedback of any kind is loved and appreciated.

**Next Chapter: **Kael continues to feel conflicted, Aegis is forced to deal with a toddler for hours on end (should be fun), and Sepulchure… well, you'll see.


	2. Chapter 2: Awakening

**Author's Note: **Next chapter, yay!

I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter. Writer's block has been plaguing me nonstop for several months now, and it's only just beginning to retreat. Sort of. Well, enough for me to finish this chapter, at least.

Just so everyone is aware, I do not, as of yet, know exactly where this story is headed (no surprise there). As always, I have ideas of what I WANT to happen, but my stories tend to have a minds of their own, so who knows if those ideas will actually be used or not.

Hope you enjoy this chapter! It's a little shorter than I'd like it to be, but I enjoyed writing it.

**Warnings for This Chapter: **Other than Kael's bit of a potty mouth, nothing.

**Disclaimer: **I do not, nor will I ever, own Dragonfable. It and all related games, plots, characters, settings, etc. is the property of Artix Entertainment. I am merely toying with its characters to suit my own fangirl-ish tendencies. Kael and Nirin, however, do belong to me.

* * *

><p><strong>Edit 224/2012: **Fixed a tiny little plot hole that's been bugging me, as well as a few minor word changes here and there.

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><p><span>Chapter 2<span>

**Awakening**

Kael forced herself awake at dawn the next morning. It had only been a few hours since she had fallen asleep, and she felt even more tired than she had felt the night before, if that was even possible. But, rather than sleep like she wanted, she had more important things to take care of.

The first thing on her list: make sure the man (she had decided that she would rather not call him by his name just yet) hadn't died during the night. Chances are he was still alive, as Aegis probably would have woken her up if something went wrong.

The second thing on her list: check on the kid.

The third thing on her list: food and a bath.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she stifled a yawn with the back of her hand. Not caring that she was dressed in nothing but a ratty old nightshirt that was far too big for her and probably intended for a man, she wandered out of her room into the adjoining room.

All of the mess that had been created the night before had been cleaned up, probably courtesy of Aegis, though the stench of blood still hung thickly in the air.

As for Sepulchure, he was exactly as she had left him: lying flat on his back, unconscious and completely naked save for the bandages across his chest and the blankets drawn up to keep him from getting cold. Aegis was sitting at the man's bedside. Good. The cold that radiated from the spirit's skin would probably help keep the man's temperature down.

"How is he?" Kael asked sleepily.

"His skin is far too warm, though I believe he is better than he was last night," the spirit replied. "And you should still be asleep."

Kael shook her head. "I needed to check on him. And anyway, what about the kid?"

"Sleeping. I made the couch by the fireplace into a bed for her. She woke up crying about an hour after you went to bed. I gave her food like you said, but she refused to touch it and she would not go back to sleep until I told her that her father was still alive." He paused for a moment. "I think she is afraid of me," he added as an afterthought.

"Alright." Kael shooed the spirit out of the chair and took his place. Reaching over to feel the unconscious man's forehead, Kael found that Aegis had been right; his skin was still hot to the touch, though not as bad as it had been the night before.

"Aegis."

"Hmm?"

"Can you send Nirin into Falconreach? There are a few medicines that I need from Reens."

"You want to send the dragon into town alone?"

"He's smart. Just write a note explaining what I need, though don't say what it's for. Nirin knows where to go, and Reens knows what he looks like and who he belongs to. And I think he's still small enough to walk down the street…" Kael listed the medicines that she would need, as well as a few others to make it look like she was simply stocking up in preparation for a few weeks of traveling like she often did. Aegis nodded as he wrote them all down in his cramped handwriting.

Below the list, Aegis wrote:

_"Reens—_

_"The list there are some things that Kael needs; she's running low on them and she thinks that she'll need more soon. Just give the supplies to him and he'll get it to Kael._

_"Thank you,_

_"—Aegis._

_"P.S. Kael will pay you for it the next time she's on town, same as always."_

Note in hand, Aegis went outside to where the dragon Nirin was dozing in the sun. A large, blue eye opened halfway at his approach.

"Kael has a request for you," Aegis said in broken Draconic. He did not know very much of the arcane language, and what little he knew was what he had picked up from Kael over the past couple years through their contract. The bond between their souls allowed him little glimpses into Kael's memories, thoughts, and emotions, as well as a window into the things that Kael knew, such as languages. "She wants you to take this to Reens in Falconreach."

Nirin raised his head and looked down at Aegis with a scrutinizing gaze. Aegis had never been sure what the dragon thought about him. At the beginning of his contract with Kael, things had been tense between him and the dragon, almost as if Nirin had been worried that the spirit would take Kael away from him. It had been a contest of wills for a long time after that; who did Kael like best? Who was the better companion? Things had settled eventually, however, though some of the tension was still apparent in the dragon's eyes whenever Kael was alone with the spirit.

Aegis held the note—which by then had little ice crystals creeping around the edges—up to the dragon. Nirin brought his head down to examine the note. Nostrils flared for a moment before huge jaws opened and delicately took the note from the spirit's hand. Nirin got to his feet.

As Aegis walked back into the house, he turned around in time to see the dragon unfurl enormous silvery wings and take to the sky. Thunder rumbled overhead, and a single drop of water landed on Aegis's arm. It froze instantly and fell to the ground where it quickly melted into the dirt. It would become a full-on thunderstorm before too long, he noted.

He had barely shut the door when he heard a small whimpering noise coming from the opposite end of the main room. There was the scuffle of blankets being shifted, and then a pair of tiny hands appeared on the top of the couch, followed by a pairing of sleepy-looking eyes. The child spotted him and ducked back behind the couch, though she forgot to hide her hands, too.

Quietly, Aegis made his way over to the child. Peering over the back of the couch, he caught a glimpse of the girl's face before she flung the blankets over herself with a startled squeak. Reaching down, he prodded the child's shoulder through the blanket.

"Do not be afraid of me," he told the girl. "I will not hurt you." He bent down closer as he nudged her shoulder again, more gently this time.

A pair of blue eyes peered out from under the blanket. A split second later, they widened in surprise at finding Aegis so close by. With a shriek of alarm, the child scuffled backwards on the couch as far as she could go. Aegis, also startled, instantly backpedaled in the same moment, accidentally knocking over one of the potted plants that sat on the mantle. It fell to the floor with a loud crash, sending dirt, pottery shards, and bits of vegetation everywhere.

And to top it all off, the little girl started to cry. Aegis was completely at a loss of what to do—dealing with children was more Kael's area of expertise than his. In fact, he couldn't remember a time when he had ever had to take care of a child. It's possible he had been around children all those centuries ago when he was still human, but that lifetime was so far gone that he couldn't even remember his original name, let alone whether he had had a family.

"Please do not cry," he said, trying to make his voice sound more human. He tentatively reached down to try and comfort her, but the sudden cold only served to make her cry harder. Bewildered, he backed away, treading on one of the broken pieces of pottery as he did so. It didn't cut through his boot, but it slid under his foot, knocking him off balance for the second time in as many minutes, only this time he wasn't able to catch himself before he went crashing to the floor.

"Aegis?" Kael's voice came from down the hall. "What was that?" She came to stand in the doorway, still dressed in the old nightshirt, though she had taken the time to tie her hair back and she was in the process of pulling on a robe. Upon seeing the little girl in tears with Aegis sprawled in a rather ungraceful heap on the floor, she rushed forward. "Are you alright?" she asked, taking the spirit's elbow as she helped him to his feet. Surveying the damage, she asked "What the hell happened?"

Aegis wanted to disappear. Had he been human, his face would have been bright red from embarrassment. "I was startled," he mumbled, adjusting his helm so that it was no longer askew. The corner's of Kael's mouth twitched in amusement, but before she could laugh, her eyes fell on the little girl who still sat on the couch, crying.

"Oh, dear." She quickly knelt down in front of the child, completely ignoring the mortified spirit behind her. "What's wrong, sweetie?" She brushed one of the girl's tears away with her thumb. "Did Aegis scare you?" The child nodded. "Oh, he didn't mean to. He's just useless, he can't help it." Ignoring the indignant snort behind her, she went on. "There's nothing to cry about, alright?" Again, the child nodded, sniffling. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Gravelyn," the girl replied in a little voice, wiping her nose on her sleeve.

"That's a pretty name," Kael said, giving the girl a kind smile. "My name's Kael, and the blue idiot behind me is Aegis." Again, the so-called 'blue idiot' snorted irritably. "And he's not at all scary. Aegis is very nice, understand?" This last was directed towards the spirit. "So no more crying, alright?" She brushed another tear away as Gravelyn nodded again. "Are you hungry?"

"Uh-huh."

"Okay. Aegis is gonna make sure you get something to eat. Now, I'm gonna be busy taking care of your dad, so you won't see much of me for a while, but Aegis will be nearby if you need anything, alright?" Another nod. Kael smiled and got to her feet, but was stopped when Gravelyn caught hold of her sleeve.

"Is Daddy okay?" she asked.

Kael hesitated for a moment. For one blissful moment, she had completely forgotten the relation between the child and the man who still lay unconscious in the other room.

"Not yet..." she replied uncertainly. "But he will be."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Gravelyn let go of Kael's sleeve, and as the latter walked past Aegis, the spirit hissed in her ear: "Is he really going to recover?"

Kael sighed. "I have no idea," she replied truthfully. "If he does, then he'll be lucky. Or unlucky, as the case may be." And with that, she left the room.

* * *

><p>An hour later, Kael sat down in the chair beside Sepulchure's bed with a heavy sigh. Bending her head back, she stared out the window behind her, watching as clouds gathered in her upside-down line of vision.<p>

"Gonna rain," she mumbled to herself. "Hope Nirin gets back before it gets too bad. He hates getting wet."

She brought her head forward again and tossed her hair—still dripping slightly from her recent bath—back over her shoulder. Without her realizing it, her eyes fell upon the unconscious Doom Knight. She just couldn't get over the fact that Sepulchure actually had a face other than the grotesque red skull helm that he always wore. But, then, thinking that the helm was his face with childish and silly.

Reaching out, she traced the thin scar that rain from his hairline down past his left ear to his jawbone. The edge of the scar just barely avoided touching the outside corner of his left eye before curving away.

"Wonder how he got that," she mused quietly. His skin was still far too warm, but hopefully Nirin would be back soon with the medicines that would help.

A light tapping on the roof signaled the arrival of the rain. Kael couldn't remember the last time it had rained; a lot of the time, all the magic used in wars messed with the weather, what with its tendency to send all of the elements out of whack for a few days. And seeing as the elemental orbs had all been destroyed (save for the elemental orb of bacon, but Kael had never really considered that one an element), things were going to be messed up for a long time to come.

Kael leaned back in the chair, feeling her shoulders slump. Her eyelids drooped as she listened to the calming sound of the rain, and before long, she had fallen asleep.

* * *

><p>Slowly, Sepulchure opened heavy-lidded eyes to see… a ceiling. An ordinary wooden ceiling. There was the sound of a heavy rain coming from somewhere, as well as the feeling of scratchy bed linens against his skin.<p>

A muffled noise off to one side drew his attention. Sitting in a chair next to the bed he was lying in was a person he knew all too well. She was leaning back in the chair, arms crossed across her chest, head drooping, apparently asleep.

It was… _her._ That Soulweaver. That… annoyance. Why was _she_ here?

Or, better yet, why was _he_ here? This wasn't any place that he recognized.

He turned his head to look around, not that he could see much, as his vision kept blurring over every few seconds. What he could see, however, was entirely unremarkable. Plain walls, unadorned save for a banner depicting the insignia of the Dragon Lords, a table in the corner with an empty washbasin, and a small potted plant resting on the windowsill. There was the sound of the wind rustling the leaves of the trees outside, which meant that the window was open. An unlit lamp sat on a little table next to the bed.

The wind suddenly picked up outside, and there was a loud thud and the rumbling of some large beast. A few minutes later, a door slammed shut somewhere close by, and footsteps approached.

The door to the room he was in opened and a slender, blue-skinned figure entered, accompanied by an unnatural chill. It was that spirit that made killing the Soulweaver so irritatingly difficult. Before the spirit had first showed up, it had been so easy to beat the woman down, make her flee from him, make her fear him. But after she had formed an alliance with it, her strength had grown exponentially. How that was possible, he had no idea. It was worth investigating, that was certain.

He watched the spirit cross the room in a few short strides, carrying a good-sized parcel under one arm. Reaching out with its other hand, it jabbed the sleeping woman between the eyes. She frowned and mumbled something under her breath. Again, the spirit poked her in the face. The woman's dark eyes opened halfway as she glared sleepily at it.

"What?" she grumbled.

"You fell asleep," the spirit replied in a voice that brought images of ice and frost to mind.

"Yeah, so? I'm tired." She closed her eyes again, clearly with the intention of falling back asleep, but the spirit simply poked her again, this time directly in the eye.

"Ow!" she exclaimed, sitting bolt upright. "Aegis! What was that for! And do you have any idea how painful it is for your eye to suddenly become really, really cold? No, of course, you don't."

"Kael."

"I mean, you're always cold, what with you being an ice spirit, and all, so it's not like sudden cold would even be noticeable to you."

"Kael!"

The woman stopped talking abruptly. It seemed she was even more of an idiot than he had already assumed…

"What?"

"Nirin came back with everything you asked for. He will not stop complaining about the rain." The spirit dropped the parcel unceremoniously into her lap. "Also, he is awake." The spirit jabbed a thumb in his direction to emphasis its point.

The woman's gaze snapped in his direction and her dark eyes widened ever so slightly for a moment before settling back into neutral.

"So it seems."

The spirit stepped back as the woman got to her feet. She bent down and placed a cool hand on his forehead. He tried to shy away from her touch, but he couldn't move.

"Still a bit of a fever," she muttered before moving her hand down to his neck. His entire body tensed up as he was sure that she would try to strangle him, but she simply pressed the tips of two of her fingers hard into his neck just below his jawbone. "Pulse is good."

Every part of him was telling him to flee, to escape from the woman who would surely kill him—he would most certainly kill her if their positions were switched—and yet he still couldn't move. He could only watch as the woman rifled around in the parcel that the spirit had brought her. She pulled out a little packet and examined it.

"Perfect," she said to herself with a smile. "Reens always has the best medicines." She glanced back over at him. "I'll be right back."

She walked out of the room, parcel in hand, leaving him alone. Odd, he hadn't noticed that the spirit had left. Wait… No. That's impossible. Surely he would have noticed. Spirits like that gave off high amounts of energy that even the most idiotic of humans couldn't miss.

It wasn't long before the woman came back in, a steaming cup of something held in her hand. She actually surprised him when she returned; he had been staring at the window, watching the rain fall, and suddenly a floorboard had creaked near the door, startling him.

"This is a tea to help your fever," she told him, her face blank. She slid one hand under his neck and forced his head up. He grimaced as pain shot through his chest, but he was quickly distracted by the rim of the cup being pressed to his lips.

"It's not poison, just open your mouth and drink," she said firmly. As he had no intention of drinking anything that she of all people gave him, he tried to clamp his jaws shut, but some unseen force pried his jaws open. Bitter liquid filled his mouth as the woman tipped the cup forward. He swallowed it and immediately began coughing. At some point the cup was set aside. She laid his head back onto the pillow as the coughing subsided.

"Can you speak?" she asked calmly, her expression deadpan. He said nothing, but simply stared at her with wary eyes. She sighed after a moment and ran a bare hand through her hair. "Don't want to? Fine, whatever."

Bare hands… she was unarmed. Why was she in such close proximity to him when she was unarmed? Of course, she was skilled in magic, so a weapon was not always necessary, but still.

_'The woman is an idiot!'_ he thought to himself. _'She is a fool for not taking the opportunity to kill me!'_

That thought brought a new dilemma to light. Why hadn't she killed him? She had him alone and, judging by the fact that he couldn't move, completely helpless. In short, he was at her mercy, and he knew for a fact that mercy was something that he didn't deserve.

Perhaps she was simply waiting to kill him. It could have been that she was waiting until he regained his strength before killing him; he didn't really know anything about her, so for all he knew, she could be the type to refuse a fight unless it was on somewhat equal ground.

Pathetic. If that was the case, then all he had to do was to wait until he recovered. He wouldn't even have to be at half strength in order to crush her like the pest she was!

"You know," she began speaking out of the blue. "If you're thinking about how you're going to kill me and escape, don't bother. Your armor and sword were taken away and your powers have been sealed." She reached down and grabbed hold of his left wrist, lifting it up so that it was within his line of vision. "See that rune on the back of your hand?" Indeed, there was a symbol etched into his skin by a thin white scar that had not been there before. "You got more like that on your other hand, on your forehead, and over your heart. And they go right down to the soul, so don't even think about trying to cut them away." She released his wrist before sitting down again.

"It's only been a day, in case you were wondering," she went on, her voice suddenly going from contempt-filled and biting to calm and almost sorrowful. "No doubt people are still cleaning up the bodies. And from what I heard, a few people actually went blind when the sun came back."

The woman continued talking for quite some time, going on about whatever random subject popped into her head, ranging from the state of things now that the fighting had ceased, to speculations about what was to come, to muttering complaints about how some Soulweaver named Tomix had run off on a wild goose chase after some spirit whose name he didn't catch. And all the while, she didn't look him in the eye even once, choosing instead to stare out at the wall.

After what felt like hours, she fell silent. It was a sudden change after he had gotten used to half-listening to her continuous babbling. But just when he thought that she had run out of things to say, she opened her mouth again and sighed heavily.

"Fuck, why am I doing this?" she said, sudden tension straining her voice. "If I were anyone else, I would have killed you the moment I found you unconscious on the battlefield."

"So kill me," Sepulchure croaked out. Pain shot through his chest as he spoke. "There is nothing to stop you."

She shot him a glare. "I am aware of that."

"So why haven't you?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but was halted when there was a sudden knock.

"What is it, Aegis?" the woman asked with an exasperated sigh, glancing up. In the doorway was the spirit that followed her everywhere.

There was a pause. "I told you to keep her away from this room! This isn't something a child should see!"

"She has been tormenting me all day," the spirit replied with the tiniest hint of a whimper in his voice. "I had hoped that she would leave me alone if she got to see him."

"Oh, fine, whatever," the woman replied wearily. "Just hold on one moment." She got to her feet and bent over him in order to rearrange the bed covers so that they hid the bandages around his chest.

A moment after the woman stepped backward, there was the sound of little feet on the wooden floor, and a little face peeked over the edge of the bed.

"Gravelyn," he murmured. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the spirit leave, but the woman lingered in the doorway.

"There's your answer," he heard the woman say as she left the room.

"Daddy hurt?" the little girl asked, dragging herself up onto the bed.

"A little," he said, hoarsely. Though he would never admit it to anyone, not even himself, he had been worried about the child. Part of him had been afraid that they, the Blue Mage, the Guardians, would take her from him. Gravelyn was all he had left of… of her.

"Aegie says Kay take care of you."

He nodded as Gravelyn crawled up next to him and huddled close. Her eyelids were drooping within moments.

"Daddy gonna be okay?" the little girl murmured sleepily.

He stroked her soft hair. "Yeah," he replied quietly. "Daddy's going to be just fine."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Aaaaaaahhhhhh Gravelyn's so cute!

I know Seppy was a little OOC with that last bit, but I love the idea of him being a good father to Gravelyn. In the game, it's made pretty clear that he's protective of her, so I thought I'd take it a step further.

Also, something I couldn't help but to notice about their names: Sepulchure's name comes from the Latin word "sepulchrum," meaning "tomb." Very fitting for a Doom Knight. And Gravelyn's name had the word "grave" in it. Must be a theme.

Please review! I thrive off of constructive criticism, but feedback of any kind is loved and appreciated.

Also, on the subject of Gravelyn's age: I imagine her being about three, three-and-a-half at the most. I've never written a little child before, so I don't know if I'm doing it right, but mainly I'm going by my own scant memories from that age, as well as from when my two youngest cousins were that age, so I'm hopefully not too far off.

**Next Chapter: **Sepulchure and Kael actually speak to one another and word gets out that… hmm… I think I will let you see for yourself.


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